Happy Birthday (over black)

For my first layered mani in months, I’m wearing another long standing untried. Lippmann Happy Birthday (my bottle is the “old” version, from Holiday 2009) is a multicolored hex and small square glitter in a clear base. I layered it over Chanel Black Velvet:

Picture taken in sunlight. I used two coats of Black Velvet, and “two” of Happy Birthday, The glitter is actually not that dense so painting in normal brushstrokes will deposit just a very sparse amount on the nail. Instead, I applied drops of glitter and spread it around to make sure I had even distribution, repeating the process twice to get plenty on there. I feel like this is the OG “party glitter;” I think it’s the first one I ever bought. “Party in a bottle” is an accurate descriptor; I see so many colors of glitter, in both the hexagonal and square shapes: silver, yellow, green, orange, blue, fuchsia. I like putting this type of glitter over black to make those colors really pop. This isn’t my favorite of the few party glitters I’ve tried so far; I prefer Nails Inc. Soho Street because it’s more dense at two coats, but I still like this classic. I paired it with Illamasqua Aorta on my toes.